breach. thank you so much for watching. i'm brooke baldwin. now to one wolf blitzer taking the show on the road today. aspen, colorado. "the situation room" starts right now. brooke, thanks very much. happening now, a mysterious package apparently mailed by the theater massacre suspect turns up at the university of colorado. also, the mother of the baseball legend, cal ripken, jr., abducted at gunpoint. and we look inside the tax havens that let some of the world's wealthiest people hide trillions of dollars from tax collectors. i'm wolf blitzer in aspen, colorado. you're in "the situation room." but we begin with new developments here in colorado

involving the colorado theater massacre. a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation tells cnn police and the fbi have discovered a package in the university of colorado mail room that appears to have been mailed by the suspected shooter, james holmes. cnn's ed lavandera is in aurora for us. ed, what do we know about this package? >> reporter: well, we're still trying to gather information on what exactly is inside that package, wolf. but as you mentioned that law enforcement official telling cnn that on monday police and fbi discovered a package that was apparent apparently sent by james holmes, the 24-year-old suspected gunman. now it's unclear obviously if this package was indeed sent by him, it was clearly sent before he was taken into custody. it arrived at some point on monday at the university mail room. we've also been told by hospital officials over the last couple of days this is something we've been monitoring for some time that there were two packages

that were suspicious and were being looked into, one found in the mail room and also one that was actually delivered to a university professor. so we've been trying to nail down more information on this. and we'll continue to do so, wolf. >> what's the university of colorado saying about all of this, ed? >> reporter: well, now that the details have come out that this package was probably sent by james holmes, the university says they can no longer comment or make any kind of comments in regard to this investigation. the judge in this case has issued a wide-ranging gag order. many officials starting to clamp down and not speak publicly about what's going on in this case now. >> ed lavandera on the scene for us as he's been right from the beginning. thank you. elsewhere, in maryland, police say the fbi are now investigating an abduction with ties to the baseball legend cal rib ken jr. his mother was found safe this morning almost 24 hours after

being taken from her home at gunpoint. cnn's lisa sylvester's working the story for us. what happened here, lisa? >> hi there, wolf. what we know is this all started about 7:00, 8:00 yesterday morning when a man apparently approached and went to violet ripken's house and abducted her at gunpoint. he then according to authorities spent most of the day driving around in her car throughout central maryland. and it was only until around 8:30 last night when there was a citizen in the neighboring county, in baltimore county, who saw a suspicious vehicle. he called it in to county authorities. and at that point it was that tip that eventually led to violet ripken being found this morning unharmed back near her house in aberdeen. she was however bound. authorities at this point are not clear what the motive is in all of this. they do say though that her credit cards have been used, but there was no apparent ransom that was discussed. a ransom never came up at all.

we have more information now from the police chief here at aberdeen. >> he was driving her vehicle, which was a silver lincoln continental. i believe it was a 1998. he was driving her vehicle. she was taken from her residence in her vehicle and she was located back at her residence in her vehicle. >> now, about the suspect. here's the description that we have been given, a white male, late 30s to early 40s, tall thin build. at the time he was wearing a light colored shirt, camo pants and eyeglasses. authorities are also looking for the 1998 silver lincoln towncar, wolf. >> what is the ripken family saying about all this, lisa? >> i'm sure you can imagine that this has been fairly traumatic for all of them. they did release -- the ripken family released a statement saying "as you now know our mother was abducted at gunpoint

from her home yesterday morning. this has been a trying time for our family but grateful and relieved mom is back with us safe and healthy. we want to thank everyone for tremendous support especially all of the law enforcement agencies that worked so hard and quickly." again, this individual is still at large. they still do not know who this person is, but they do believe he is still armed and dangerous, wolf. >> lisa sylvester, thanks very much. let's go overseas right now. the presumptive republican presidential nominee, mitt romney, he's in london tonight. his first stop on an overseas tour suppose today bring a temporary cease battle from the white house. but the verbal warfare has not let up at all. jim acosta is in london traveling with the republican presidential account. he's joining us now with details on some controversial remarks that sparked an uproar today. jim, tell our viewers what's going on. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. mitt romney's overseas trip has only begun and already both campaigns are fighting like

napoleon and the british over a relationship said to be between the u.s. and britain. a campaign called a trip to listen and learn. all of a sudden it's a trip over who said what as obama campaign is seizing on a quote a british newspaper claimed came from an unnamed romney advisor. which cannot be confirmed and the romney campaign denies. the advisor is quoted in london's daily telegraph saying were part of an anglo saxon heritage and feels the relationship is special. the white house didn't fully appreciate the shared history we have. in a statement vice president joe biden didn't hold back calling the comments just another feeble attempt by the romney campaign to score political points. this assertion is beneath the presidential campaign. romney campaign officials say the quote didn't come from them. adding in a statement if anyone said that they weren't reflecting the views of governor romney or anyone inside the

campaign. the romney campaign insists the gop contender will not criticize the president overseas in keeping with political tradition. that explains romney's tough talk just before he left the u.s. >> in dealings with other nations he has given trust where it is not earned, insult where it was not deserved, and apology where it is not due. >> reporter: but the trip does come with purpose. in london where romney will watch the opening ceremonies of the summer olympics, he'll be remembered for turning around the scandaled plagues in salt lake city ten years ago. >> he certainly did rescue those games. my opinion of him as a future president is not as high. >> reporter: oh, okay. >> i don't believe he is -- >> reporter: a pro-obama super pac couldn't resist portraying romney going for the gold in his foreign investments.

romney's next stop in israel is also no accident. republicans have hammered president obama for his tense relationship with israeli prime minister netanyahu, something a jewish gop group plays up in a new ad. >> he's going to place israel in a position where they're in danger. >> reporter: the president's campaign argues senator obama covered more ground during his foreign trip exactly four years ago. his stop in germany drew over 200,000 people. romney likely won't run across the same crowds, but he can find one of his signs by heading over to london's romney street where one of his bumper stickers is now on full display. besides meeting with foreign leaders and going to the olympics, mitt romney is also scheduled to attend some fundraisers seeking some of that campaign gold he'll need for the long marathon to november. wolf. >> and he's going to be delivering a few major speeches on this trip. i assume something islondon, is?

>> reporter: we're expecting him to meet with various british officials tomorrow. he'll meet with british prime minister david cameron. it's in israel, wolf, where we're expecting him to give a pretty major speech and then perhaps another one in poland where he'll be emphasizing his belief putting out a strong image of american freedom to the rest of the world, wolf. >> thanks very much, jim acosta traveling with the republican presidential candidate in london right now. attack after attack, is the negative tone in the presidential campaign impacting voters' views of the candidates? also gun control, profiling, the threat of a lone wolf, hot button issues in the wake of the theater massacre. we're going to talk about those in our strategy session. desperately needed tax revenues stashed in offshore tax havens. we're on the hunt for hidden

fortunes. [ annie ] this is the story of a girl named annie who dreamed she could fly. like others who braved the sky before her, it took a mighty machine, and plain old ingenuity to go where no fifth grader had gone before. ♪ and she flew and she flew, into the sky and beyond. my name is annie and i'm the girl who dreamed she could fly. powered by intel core processors. ♪

powered by intel core processors. by what's getting done. measure commitment the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. see life in the best light. [music]

transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. so what i'm saying is, people like options. when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options. oh, how convenient. hey. crab cakes, what are you looking at? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

jack cafferty's here with the cafferty file. jack. >> wolf, turns out a million dollars still is not enough money to make some people feel rich. a new survey of millionaires finds more than one quarter of them say they don't feel wealthy. but they would if they had an extra $5 million. the fidelity investments millionaire outlook report finds the average millionaire is about 60 years old and has at least $3 million in assets. the survey shows only 14% of today's millionaires say they grew up wealthy. a whopping 86% describe themselves as self-made. and according to this report, millionaires' outlook on the financial future is the highest it's been in the survey's history. let's hope they're right. meanwhile, there are a million different definitions of what being wealthy means. it's probably safe to say that mitt romney's idea of wealthy is

a far cry from yours or mine. wealth is relative in many ways if you're free fr financial worry, have enough set aside to secure a retirement and can afford a few luxuries like vacations, maybe a second home, fancy car, you may well consider yourself wealthy. but for the donald trumps of the world, too much money is never enough. they're continually driven to amass more wealth. buy another company, make another deal, sometimes not ever stopping to appreciate what they have. and the acmulation and managing of that kind of money involves tremendous stress and energy. the saying that money can't buy happiness is true. but it can buy peace of mind. so here's the question, how much money would it take for you to feel wealthy? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on the "the situation room" facebook page. if i had your money, wolf, i'd feel wealthy. >> yeah. wealthy indeed. all right, jack, thank you. a negative turn in the race for the white house with both the obama and romney campaigns unleashing a slew of accusations

and attack ads. let's talk about this and more with our cnn chief political analyst, gloria borger. gloria, is the negative tone of these ads, the attacks, are they impacting voters' views of these two candidates? >> you bet, wolf. and it's not pretty. in fact, it's impacting them really negatively. take a look at this new result from the nbc "the wall street journal" poll. you look at the favorable and unfavorable ratings. i mean, mitt romney's unfavorables, wolf, are now five points higher than his favorables. he's completely under water there. and president obama is still more favorable than nonfavorable, but his rating has gone down. and these negatives for these candidates are as high as they have ever been. and that's of course because as you point out, we've had two straight months of each campaign through their super pacs or their campaigns speing over $25 million in advertising about

each other, most of which is negative. the public has clearly been watching it. and they've decided, you know what, we don't really think more of you folks for doing this, we actually think a lot less of you two as candidates. >> so when you dig deeper, what are you seeing, gloria, about each candidate's as a result r vulnerabilities? >> each candidate has a very different set of vulnerabilities. look at president obama first. it's the economy, of course, as you might suspect. and voters are clearly getting locked into kind of a pessimistic view of the economy. in this "the wall street journal" poll the question was asked, what do you think will happen to the economy in the next 12 months? and if you see it's down eight points from just a month ago, wolf. and only 27% now believe that the economy is going to get better, which is why the president wants to turn this into an election about mitt romney he does not want this to be an

election about the economy. but let's talk about mitt romney for a moment because he has his own vulnerability. it's not about the economy, but it really is about his persona. his vulnerability is that voters don't like him as much as they like president obama. that's a problem that's dogged him throughout this entire campaign. this is a gallup poll, which candidate is more likable? look at the differences in that. 60% for president obama, 30% for romney. that's not a gap, that's a chasm, wolf. and that's very difficult to overcome, but he's still the candidate people believe has the better ideas to manage the economy which is why you hear him continue to talk about that. he wants to make this election about president obama's stew ardship and the economy and the fact he believes he would do a better job. two different men, two different

sets of vulnerability. >> good point, gloria. gloria borger assessing for us, thank you. >> sure. there's some troubling new signs about the u.s. economy as well. it looks like record low mortgage rates aren't, aren't helping boost home sales. kate bolduan is standing by. she'll have details in a minute. and, later, what olympic organizers didn't want you to know about friday's opening ceremonies. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves.

the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer.

you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank. somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them to the pool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone.

the new president's just been sworn in over in india. kate bolduan is monitoring that story, some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. kate, what's going on? >> hey, wolf. india's 13th president. it's mostly a ceremonial job in india. the prime minister actually holds the real power. however, india's presidents also take on the role of supreme commander of the country's armed forces. he's 76 years old and also served as the finance minister for india. june saw the biggest drop in new home sales in more than a year. new homes are selling at a rate of 350,000 a year down 75% from the boom year of 2005. despite record low mortgage rates, loan applications actually fell last week. and a new addition to the pentagon's website will make it easy to check political candidates or really anyone else's claims that they have received military honors.

the database is valor.defense.gov. contains all since september 11, 2001. in addition to catching liars, the database is also meant to honor those who deserved their rewards and a response to last month's supreme court ruling that made it a crime to lie about military honors. and check out this amazing video of a volcanic eruption in southern japan. they were taking these videos from different angles yesterday. and the closer view is in slow motion. it's one of japan's most active volcanos. ash explosions like this are apparently common. we were looking at it, wolf, over 600 minor explosions from this volcano already reported this year. the people in that neighboring town are pretty used to it. still pretty amazing. >> it is amazing. and very impressive pronunciation as well. thank you, kate. >> little bit of practice. thank you. >> good work. excellent work. so here's a question, what if a man with an arab name

ordered thousands of rounds of ammunition on the internet? the colorado theater massacre's raising new questions about whom authorities should be watching. and also one expert calls it a black hole in the world economy. we're investigating trillions, yes, trillions of dollars allegedly hidden in offshore tax havens. building pass, corporate card, verizon 4g lte phone. the global ready one ? yeah, but you won't need... ♪ hajimemashite. hajimemashite. hajimemashite. you guys like football ? thank you so much.

i'm stoked. you stoked ? totally. ... and he says, "under the mattress." souse le matelas. ( laughter ) why's the new guy sending me emails from paris ? paris, france ? verizon's 4g lte devices are global-ready. plus, global data for just $25. only from verizon. to drive a car filled with as much advanced technology as the world around it. with the available lexus enform app suite, you can use opentable to make restaurant reservations... search with bing... and listen to pandora. presenting the 2013 lexus gs, rx and the all-new es, the leading edge of the leading edge. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. for a golf getaway. double miles you can actually use... but mr. single miles can't join his friends because he's getting hit with blackouts. shame on you.

now he's stuck in a miniature nightmare. oh, thank you. but, with the capital one venture card... you can fly any airline, any flight, any time. double miles you can actually use. what's in your wallet? alec jr? it was a gift. alec jr? our current dividend tax rate will expire this year, sending taxes through the roof and hindering economic recovery. the consequences? millions of americans

will see their taxes on dividend income spike, slowing investment in u.s. companies and jeopardizing development in energy projects that create american jobs. ask congress to stop a dividend tax hike -- for all of us. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

today the homeland security secretary, janet napolitano praised the police department response to the theater shootings. during testimony on capitol hill, napolitano revealed they'd just been trained to deal with this kind of attack. >> one of the scenarios we have been training across the country for is something along the lines of a mumbai-style attack where you have multiple shooters organized. and we had actually coincidentally just done that training -- >> i have another question. >> -- and the aurora police were there. and their response last week is to be commended. >> aurora police were on the scene of the theater shooting within minutes, only a few minutes, of when the gunman opened fire. let's talk a little bit about what's going on.

we're here in aspen, colorado. in our strategy session joining us former democratic congresswoman jayne harmon now president of the woodrow wilson center in washington. also joining us former homeland security secretary michael chertoff. they're both here and i'm here as well for the aspen institute security forum. more on that coming up today and tomorrow. but let's talk a little bit about what happened. an interesting quote and congress harmon, i want to throw it out to you first. this is from the mom of the denver muslim community. here's what he said. i'll put it up on the screen. he said if my name is ibrahim or mohamed and i order a gun or that much information on the internet, i think within a few hours of the delivery the fbi and the cia is at my house. is there some sort of double standard going on here? you know what's going on at homeland security. what would you say to him?

>> well, i certainly hope there's not a double-standard. it's a few bad apples who are non-muslim and muslim, but we don't have enough monitoring of anybody's gun purchases especially purchases of 6,000 rounds of ammunition. i think it's shocking that we don't have a way to trace this better. >> mr. secretary, so if james holmes' name had been mohammad and he ordered 6,000 rounds of ammunition and assault weapons and the camouflage equipment gear like that, would there have been a different -- could this have been stopped in advance? in other words, would law enforcement whether at the local, state or federal level have intervened before someone could go into a movie theater? >> wolf, i think you have to separate two different things. if someone's name was on a watch list already, whatever the ethnic background, obviously that would have called for a much more serious and intense scrutiny. in terms of just the average

person, whatever their name ordering quantities over the internet, i don't know that we have a monitoring program yet that looks at the amount of ammunition or whether you buy tactical gear and body protecting armor. and it may be that we should have some kind of a system in place where we monitor certain kinds of lethal equipment in much the same way we do with explosive material. it's a complicated issue. civil libertarians would get all upset if you're doing too much monitoring. so you have to calibrate and set the threshold -- >> you say monitoring, what you're really saying is profiling, right? >> no. we're able to know if you buy multiple prescriptions. i don't know why we shouldn't put munitions on that list. after all, the national rifle association, the r is for rifle, not military-style assault weapons and these packs of repeated munitions. and congress voted to ban 19 varieties of assault weapons in 1994. i made that vote. i was proud of that vote.

and we let that ban lapse. and i think this incident should teach us a lot about early detection of people who seem to be dropping out and are loners. we learned this in the gabby giffords shooting too. i would just say we should now ban purchases of these multiple munitions -- >> before i get -- would you agree that somebody goes out and buys within a few weeks or few months 6,000 rounds of ammunition that should be enough to stop what's going on? >> it should certainly raise a question. >> should the federal government be monitoring that? >> well, again, and when you say monitoring you have to be careful about how you do it. if it becomes evident that someone's buying huge quantities of ammunition or they're buying body-protecti ining armor and n legitimate explanation, there may be many, sure, there ought to be some focus on that. but one of the lessons here is much of the most lethal activity holmes engaged in was building booby traps and explosives.

and the raw material for that isn't armaments or guns, it's some of the material you can find in your own kitchen. so you're kidding yourself if you believe that simply monitoring material is going to answer the problem. it's a lot about people and not things. >> and i agree that it's a lot about people. and i think that we need to have better systems for -- and this, i think david brooks had a good op-ed about this yesterday. if someone's in your community and all of a sudden seems to detach and this guy was in a school setting and people might have noticed this, there should be some questions asked. and it's snooping in one sense, but in another sense we've learned enough about these lone-shooters to know that many of them have this personality change at a point. and then they snap. and this doesn't have to do with their being muslim. we should learn from this shooter incident over the weekend yet another in colorado, two of the worst ever have been in this state. and the state is very resilient. have to commend it. >> the ft. hood massacre as

well. >> that's a very interesting point because a lot of the challenge is people who do see something and they don't follow the presip to say something. not only do we have ft. hood where based on a report that came out last week it looks like there were some missed opportunities, in a totally different way but still somewhat similar look at the whole penn state issue. here's a guy molesting children, people see it and somehow they can't bring themselves to report it. so this is part of changing the culture. so we don't view it as a negative thing to report this kind of behavior. >> let me ask you a political question, tom ridge, former republican governor of pennsylvania, a man both of you know, he was asked what grade he would give the president of the united states on national security. and he said he would grade the president with a c. what grade would you give the president? >> wolf, i don't do grades. i finished with grades when i graduated from law school. i also don't do politics. >> but you are supporting -- >> i am. but when i look at homeland

security, there's been a lot of continuity. and i think a lot of what you've seen in terms of the response that secretary napolitano talked about is the investment all of us have made over ten years and want to continue to make. to me the real lesson for everybody is the threats are out there. they continue to adapt and change. we have to adapt and change. and we have to remember we're all in it together. when a gunman, whether it's holmes or hasan starts to shoot, he doesn't pick between republicans or democrats, it just kills americans. >> as far as the biggest homeland security threat right now, a lot of people think it's what we call the lone wolf, is that your opinion? >> i think so. i think people like holmes who have clean records, he didn't even have a parking -- >> he had a speeding ticket. >> i didn't know about that. but a lot of these people have clean records. in the case of the jihad types they become radicalized on the internet. something we need to understand better. something i tried to do. but then the civil libertarians

say, oh, you can't ask those questions. i think we should ask those questions about everybody. not just about muslims. we should understand that point where somebody with radical views which are protected by our constitution is prepared to engage in extreme behavior. i think that would help us intercede earlier. i want to say something about the obama administration, which is that its record here is very strong. and the foreign policy record of president obama starting with the takedown of osama bin laden and starting with a very vigorous pursuit of bad actors around the world is building on the bush administration record. and i think showing strong results. where we need to move either president after this election is in developing a better narrative for what the united states stands for in the world. i think a lot of people misunderstand. >> spoken as a good supporter of president obama. you're spoken as a good supporter of mitt romney. thanks to both of you for coming in. good conference over the next few days here in aspen. >> thank you, wolf. >> tomorrow by the way right here in "the situation room" i'll have a rare interview with

admiral william mcraven, the head of the u.s. special operations command in charge. he was in charge of the bin laden raid, tomorrow 4:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. my "the situation room" interview with admiral william mcraven. some olympic athletes didn't get the message that they're supposed to be on their best behavior. nearly a dozen already have been suspended or expelled. you'll find out what they did wrong. that's coming up next. and a judge makes a big decision about michael jackson's three children and his mother.

a police chase near niagra falls takes a deadly turn. kate bolduan is monitoring that and some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. kate, what's the latest? >> hey there, wolf. a police officer was running after a man when they both jumped over a low wall by the side of the road. what you don't see from this angle is what's on the other side. it's a sheer drop into the deep rocky gorge that's just down river from niagra falls. the officer survived and was pull today safety. the man he was chasing died at the scene. new twist in the jackson family saga. a los angeles judge suspended katherine jackson as the guardian of michael jackson's three children. tj jackson, the 34-year-old son of tito jackson, has been appointed as their temporary

guardian. katherine jackson apparently in arizona finally called her home last night after being out of communication for nine days. and some athletes are finding out the hard way, i guess, that olympians are expected to behave themselves. nine athletes have already been suspended for doping offenses. and a greek triple jumper was expelled from the games after she tweeted some pretty offensive comments about african immigrants. and this i guess gives a whole new meaning to the idea of a mobile home. it's billed as the world's smallest house. it comes with a roof, wheels, lockable door, fold out desk and window tilted on its side, as you can see there it's a bedroom. you get what you pay for. it's $300. wolf, they say it's one square meter, about ten square feet. if you need a room, there you go. >> no. too little. all right. thank you. we have a spoiler alert for all of our viewers. olympic organizers didn't want you to hear about what's going to happen during friday's opening ceremonies, but some of

the participants are going public with the details. and in our next hour, the increasingly violent protests after a series of police shootings in anaheim, california. ♪ this is our pool. ♪ our fireworks. ♪ and our slip and slide. you have your idea of summer fun, and we have ours. now during the summer event get an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz for an exceptional price. but hurry, this offer ends july 31st.

for an exceptional price. you know what's exciting? graduation. when i look up into my students faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor. i'm committed to making a difference in people's lives, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan

insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long.

we're just two days away from the opening ceremonies for the summer olympic games and details officials wanted to keep secret are leaking out anyway. here's cnn's alex thomas. >> reporter: wolf, we're still a couple of days away from the start of the london olympics, but already they're rehearsing the closing ceremony in the main stadium behind me, although it's the opening ceremony that we all look forward to, it's happening on friday, that's the one we all

remember from games down the years. and it's got to set the tone for the events to come. this one is a $40 million production overseen by the movie director danny boyle. they've got a twitter hash tag saying save the surprise to encourage people to not let the cat out of the bag, but organizers have spilled a few secrets. and we've certainly been hearing things like the james bond theme music coming out of the stadium. so maybe 007 will make a surprise. the flame will always be a crucial part of any opening ceremony. and the torch carrying event has been involved in a relay around the uk for the last two months or so. i even sort of put my journalist hat to one side and joined the crowds when it came past my home in west london. i even took some video footage of one torch bearer handing over to another. there's been 8,000 torch bearers, some celebrities, many not. although the swimmers probably won't get to see the olympic flame because their events are first up. they'll need better rest and recuperati

recuperation. a lot of eyes on michael phelps, who i saw earlier on today at a s speedo event. phelps said to me actually they get along perfectly fine, they even play cards together although when it comes to facing each other in the pool, only one of them will be an ace. wolf. >> alex thomas in london for us. thanks. the excitement brewing over there. jack cafferty is back with us. he's got the cafferty file. that speedo event, jack, you got your -- you all set for whatever's going on? >> i'm not going near that. speedo? that would be a way to empty the pool, the stadium and the surrounding community is for me to put on a speedo. the question this hour is how much money would it take for you to feel wealthy? tim writes from kansas, i think it depends on how you're raised. i was raised by a father who managed a pizza parlor and a stepmother who didn't work. there were five of us. and we lived on less than

$18,000 a year. even though i know i have to pay back my student loans, i do have a $16,000 loan, a tuition waiver for being a graduate assistant and a $7,000 salary. so i already feel rich comparatively speaking. pat in wyoming writes about $3 million would do it. anyway, a lot more than it used to be. millionaires aren't so rare. georgia in pennsylvania, i think about $35,000 would do it for me. all i would like to do is pay off every one i owe. and that would make me feel rich. i'm 60 years old. i worked since i was 15. i'm not disabled. i get a whopping $847 a month. jim writes from reno, nevada, seemed like a million dollars net worth was the magic number for a long time. but i don't think seven figures cuts it anymore. it seems like you need to be worth several million just to be comfortable, live in a nice house, take vacations, be assured of a nice nest egg to leave the kids, i think wealthy is now eight figures.

another on facebook, not much, a full time job with health insurance would make me feel healthy. oliver writings good health at the age of 70 makes me wealthy. phoenix, i don't buy anything i can't afford and pretty content with my lifestyle. however, my relatives and children must think i'm rich because i'm the first person they come to when i need money. if you want to read more on the subject, go to the blog cnn.com/caffertyfile or through our post on the "the situation room" facebook page. wolf. >> thank you, jack. no more talk of speedos. desperately needed tax dollars, they are hidden in offshore tax havens as much as $32 trillion in one account. we're following the money trail. and coming up in our new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour right here in "the situation room," a killer whale attacking its trainer. we have a horrifying scene all caught on tape.

chase scene netflix coming soon extra butter tickets swoon penguin journey junior mints movie phone evil prince bollywood 3d shark attack ned the head 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback on movies through september. it pays to discover. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor.

this is the age of taking action. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. blast of cold feels nice.

why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. that's chilly. [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on. [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. well another great thing about all this walking i've been doing is that it's given me time to reflect on some of life's biggest questions. like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view. i wonder if i can see mt. rushmore from here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. to experience the ultimate expression of power -- control. ♪ during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection.

...we inspected his brakes for free. free is good. free is very good. my money. my choice. my meineke. here's a look at this hour's hot shots. in somalia an internally displaced woman escaping famine and civil war walks with her child inside a makeshift camp. in virginia wild ponies are herded into a channel for their annual swim to an island. in london u sunbathers make the most of the scorching heat on one of the hottest days of the year. and in germany, look at this, a newly born marm sat on the hand of a zoo keeper. hot shots, pictures coming in from around the world. let's go to cnn's congressional correspondent dana bash on capitol hill. there's been dueling votes on

tax plans, republican version, democratic version, update our viewers on what's going on. i should point out as you know, dana, that neither of these is going to become the law of the land, but politically they're significant. >> politically these are defining votes, you're exactly right, wolf. if you take a look at the senate floor, the defining vote is happening right now. it is what the president has been talking about on and on on the campaign trail. his plan to just extend the bush era tax cuts for those making a $250,000 or less. the republicans relented and we'll explain later in the next hour why they did that politically, but they relented and allowed an actual vote that would just allow a simple majority. we do expect according to democratic sources that they will get that simple majority. it could be close. and that is why they actually called the vice president to come here and take over his duties as the president of the senate in case he is needed to cast a tie-breaking vote. now, just before this, the republicans got a chance for their plan. their plan is to extend all of

the bush era tax cuts for just one year. it did not pass. there were a couple of crossovers -- a few i should say from republicans to new england, susan collins and scott brown voted against their party with the democrats. and one lone democrat voted with republicans, senator pryor from arkansas. he's not up for re-election this year, but he will be in a couple of years. and his fellow democrat from arkansas, blanch lincoln, lost big time a couple years ago. so he saw what happened there. wolf. >> so basically what we're seeing in the senate today is both sides posturing thinking what they're doing is doing is going to help them politically come november. congressional and senate races also in the presidential campaign. >> there's no question about it. in fact, there's a delay in this vote because we had some go figure old-fashioned debate on that issue between the democratic leader and the republican leader just minutes ago on why they're taking this vote. and the substance of whether or not it is a good idea to extend

tax cuts or to -- some tax cuts or all tax cuts during times of economic problems. so we're going to get a lot more of that later in the hour. actually, at this point maybe next hour. and the politics of what's all behind this, wolf. get this, an even larger amount is thought to be hiding in tax havens belongs to the world super rich. mary snow has been looking into all this. mary, amazing numbers. what are you learning? >> wolf, this report stands out not just because of eye-popping numbers but estimates of hidden numbers. this calculates tax havens up to the end of 2010. what some see as paradise, others see as treasure islands with so-called pirate banks to

hide money and avoid taxes. by their definition, tax havens are places with no or nominal taxes and little if any reporting requirements. a report finds the world's super rich have a staggering $21 trillion stashed away in what it counts as 80 such havens across the globe. that amount is equal to the economies of the u.s. and japan combined. james henry, a lawyer and economist wrote the report for the advocacy group tax justice network. it campaigns against tax havens. he says the actual number may be even as high as $32 trillion. >> the number is just kind of a way of having a lightning rod that makes it clear exactly what's at stake and illustrates the problem of, you know, how big it is. >> reporter: the problem he says is hundreds of billions of dollars of lost tax revenue each year with major banks helping the world's wealthiest people hide their money. the report looks at individual

wealth estimating the global elite number fewer than 10 million people with moy parked at popular havens like switzerland and the cayman and channel islands, but skeptics question the $21 trillion figure saying it's way too high. >> there could be some double counting according to some experts. and clearly it's driven by an ie dee logical agenda to try to have the highest possible number to convince governments that there's some magic pot of money out there to fund the welfare state. >> reporter: james henry dismisses the criticism and stands by his numbers. >> the bad news is we have this black hole in the world economy and we have to fix it. the good news is that it's wealth that we can put to use. we just have to figure out how to tax it and how to bring it home. >> and this report estimates that there's roughly $200 billion to $300 billion in lost tax revenue each year.

critics say the solution is to fix the problem of high taxes and unfriendly tax systems, not tax havens. wolf. >> amazing numbers indeed. mary snow, thank you. and you're in "the situation room." happening now the summer olympic games kicking off in london with security concerns running very high. cnn is on board a warship. theship along with jet fighters, helicopters and thousands of troops all part of a major effort to keep the city safe. plus, a california city erupts in violence over the fatal police shootings of two people, protesters believe didn't deserve to die. and how did an 11-year-old boy make it on an around trip overseas flight with no passport and no id? an 11-year-old. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

i'm here in aspen, colorado, where some of the most powerful national security leaders in the country are gathering for a major forum. we're going to get to that shortly. but first to the high security stakes in london going on right now. the summer olympic games kicking off today even though opening ser moannies are two days away. securities across the city are running very, very high despite the more than 18,000 troops, jet fighters, surface-to-air missiles and warships deployed. cnn's correspondent dan rivers is on board one of them. >> i've come on board hms ocean which is an amphibious assault ship and here on the river thames throughout the games.

it will form a key part of the massive security operation that now involves more than 18,000 service personnel. this is the hangar in the center where the helicopters are kept and maintained when they're not flying. there are ten lynx helicopters on board, in total five navy, five army. and these aircraft will be used to patrol the capitol with snipers on board if needed. >> there's a no-fly zone over london. should any aircraft stray that the lynx will be up in a matter of moments to identify them. >> and if necessary shoot them down? >> indeed. carrying on board a sniper should the worst happen be able to take them out. >> i hope very much the nation's presence here in greenwich provides reassurance but fundamentally capability to support the police. >> the ship is operating at almost maximum capacity. and one of the big challenges is feeding the 1,086 people on

board. >> normally on a ship's company of 400 is not so bad. but now we're just feeding just over 1,000 people a day 13 different meal times for our 24-hour period. >> reporter: the overwhelming message from hsm is they have the resources needed to counter a terrorist attack, they just hope they won't be called upon. dan rivers, cnn, london. back here in the united states national security is also center stage. homeland security secretary janet napolitano briefing members of congress today on some of the biggest threats facing the country. and she suggested friday's deadly massacre right here in colorado may be a teachable moment. cnn intelligence correspondent susan kelly is here in aspen at the aspen security forum. she's watching all of this unfolding. pretty important stuff going on. >> very important. the most pressing threats against the country right now that they're guarding against include aviation, wolf, cyber security and of course as you

mentioned, that home-grown terror threat. last week's shooting didn't exactly fit the definition of a terrorist attack, however secretary napolitano did tell the committee there are lessons to be learned from that active shooter scenario. aurora police responding to last week's shooting praised for their performance. one that the top homeland security official says she's been helping prepare for. >> one of the scenarios we have been training across the country for is something along the lines of a mumbai-style attack where you have multiple shooters organized. and we had actually coincidentally just done that training in colorado. >> the 2008 attack in mumbai, india, terrorists stormed hotels and killed anyone in their sights and set fires in an effort to cause mass terror. a wake-up call for officials here in the u.s. are concerned the same thing could happen. both napolitano and the director of the national counterterrorism center, matt olsen, told the house homeland security

committee that homeland remains among the top threat facing the nation. and they have a group charged with getting inside their minds. >> in terms of the pathway from radicalization to mobilization to violence helping to explain what those identifiers are so that we can then use that in training to sensitize local law enforcement and first responders to recognize those signs. >> so much attention, susan, is on the olympics. the u.s. security operation, they're playing some sort of role, but you've got some details. >> playing a really big role. at the national counterterrorism center which he heads, they've set up a 24-hour threat integration center. so they're working very closely with our british counterparts and intelligence and counterintelligence in london to make sure that they're on top of anything that happens. they're a little worried about it. they're concerned sfl i'm sure they are. we want all of the american

athletes and all of the athletes from all of the country well-protected. it's a nightmare obviously for the thousands of british troops and all the other assistant troops helping people from around the world. >> huge job. >> susan kelly, thank you very much. >> thank you. tomorrow right here in "the situation room" i'll have a rare interview with admiral william mcraven, the head of the u.s. military special operations command. he was in charge of the osama bin laden raid in pakistan. tomorrow 4:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. my special interview with admiral mcraven. to the violence raging in syria right now where the united nations is warning there will only be more bloodshed if the international community doesn't unite. at least 100 people were reportedly killed once again today including nine children. this as rebel fighters battle government forces for control of the country's largest city. cnn's ivan watson is inside syria near that battle.

[ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: a father stained with the blood of his son. this is the blood of a martyr he yells, of a hero, a lion, his blood is pure. grief and pride from a man who just learned his son died in battle. abdul rashied was only 22 years old, a defector from the syrian military. he died tuesday morning fighting for the rebel free syrian army. he's the fourth man from this small hilltop village to be killed battling the government. a fellow fighter brought rasheed home to be buried. he says he was shot in the syrian city of aleppo. >> a helicopter killed your friend today. >> yes. >> on a rooftop -- on top of a building. >> yes. >> what began 17 months ago as a peaceful protest movement has morphed into a full-fledged armed insurgency composed of

defectors, as well as students, shopkeepers, real estate ents and members of president bashar al assad's ruling party. >> and you were in the bath party before? >> yeah. >> for a long time. >> about ten years. >> the commander of a rebel group that calls itself the syrian falcons tells me he's fighting to free syria from more than 40 years of dictatorship under the assad family. and new recruits keep coming every day. you want to fight? >> yeah. >> against the government? >> yeah. >> that's why you came back to syria? >> yeah, yeah, of course. because he's killed everyone. he's killed my cousin. he's destroyed my village. he's destroyed my home. >> reporter: this 24-year-old came home from a job in dubai to start his own brigade of rebels. he brought a bag full of radios, cameras and sniper scopes he'd bought with his own money.

all of this is for war? you're going to fight with this? >> yeah, i know. but i go to war for my family, for my country. >> reporter: brave talk from a young man who has yet to set foot on the battlefield. this rebel veteran chokes back de tears while talking about his friend killed in aleppo just a few hours ago. >> we must fight bashar al assad. >> reporter: after burying his friend, it's back to the battle. you will go back to fight? >> tonight. >> reporter: tonight? >> tonight. >> reporter: to aleppo? >> and ivan is joining us now from inside syria. ivan, what did you see when you approached some of these locations including one of the towns that you reported on? >> reporter: let me just interrupt, wolf, by saying there's an awful lot of artillery rumbling in the distance right now. there's still syrian army

outposts, and they lob shells particularly at night and particularly at rebels who are trying to attack and overrun those outposts. we're hearing that rolling over the hills right now, that sound. what we saw today -- what we've seen over the past couple days, is a countryside that is armed and mobilized. every village we've been to has sent some of its young men, its fighters, to the battle in aleppo that has been raging now since last friday. and we've seen at least two funerals in the tlahe last two days driving around for men killed by helicopter gunship rebels. that's one of the biggest threats rebels face because they don't have the weaponry to fight back against aircraft. as you get closer to aleppo, the villages are increasingly depopulated. people have fled. and you see those telltale signs of conflict, vans, trucks, cars, loaded with families, with their belongings fleeing the fighting that is raging there. we went to one village about

seven miles west of the city walls of aleppo. and there we saw a city that's almost empty that is being shelled daily, locals tell us by a nearby syrian army outpost. rockets or artillery, i saw about a half dozen houses directly impacted by this indirect fire from a nearby syrian army base. wolf. >> and you can still hear the battle in the hills around you unfolding right now. i want to make sure you're safe and our people there are safe. how close are -- is the fighting to where you are right now, ivan? >> reporter: well, there's the raging battle in aleppo. and then there are countless other conflicts and clashes that are taking place not only throughout northern syria but throughout the country. this is a country that is now very much at war.

and every community has organized rebel brigades and battalions to engage in this battle. what we saw the reports over the course of the last 24 hours that the syrian military had withdrawn at least 2,000 soldiers fm an area in northwestern syria to reinforce its government forces in that crucial city of aleppo. and i've asked rebel commanders about that. they know about this. they realized that the regime is trying to hold onto this crucial asset. and it's willing to give up territory in other areas to do that. the rebels are trying to press the offensive on many different fronts at once. they're trying to overrun some of these small outposts that the government has succeeded in holding onto even in areas that are completely surrounded by communities that openly support and embrace the rebel movement. and you actually drive into some of these villages and at the

entrance they've painted the syrian rebel flag at the entrance to their communities. that shows how much support there is in stretches of this territory for the armed opposition, wolf. >> ivan watson inside syria for us. once again, be careful over there, ivan. thanks for your reporting. we appreciate it very, very much. other news we're following, police with pepper balls battle crowds of outraged protesters. just ahead, the latest on what's now a fourth day of violence exploding in the streets of one california city. plus, the vice president, joe biden, slams the romney campaign for a racially charged anonymous quote they deny having any part of it. did the vice president go too far? what's going on here? and a rural wedding in one of the most secretive countries in the world. north korea's supreme leader ties the knot. [ manager 1 ] out here in the winds,

i have to know the weather patterns. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox

with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." with access to the fastest push-to-talk and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ] visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. you know what's exciting? graduation. when i look up into my students faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor. i'm committed to making a difference in people's lives, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now.

home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessns are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident, we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance. because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

let's go to jack cafferty. he's here with the cafferty file. >> wolf, with unemployment above 8% for the last 41 consecutive months, here's something that might surprise you about america's job market. companies say they've had 3 million job openings every month since february. this according to the labor department, but employers say they're having trouble filling these jobs because they can't find skilled workers to do the jobs. bloomberg news reports in order to narrow the skills gap they call it, employers are teaming with philanthropies, governments and community colleges to train their existing work force. places like hospitals taking the lead turning to their own staff to train technicians and nurses. also factories, construction companies are stepping up apprenticeships. employers say it's not just the technical skills that workers are missing. they point to so-called soft skills. things like the ability to solve problems, think critically and work in teams. in other words, a lot of americans are too stupid to do the jobs that are available.

and that's pretty sad. we didn't used to be this way. cnn.com -- money.com has another surprising example of jobs going unfilled. there are 200,000 jobs available for long-haul truckers that nobody wants. experts say the positions are hard to fill because it's difficult and expensive to get certified. you know, like any other job, doctor, dentist, lawyer, you have to go to school, got to train. plus, the lifestyle of a trucker's not easy. long days on the road often living in the back of the rig separated from family and friends and working crazy hours. still, truckers earn an average of almost $40,000 a year, and that's $4,000 more than the median wage for all other jobs. you'd think people looking for work would jump at the chance, but they don't. that's the question. with 8.2% unemployment, why does nobody want 200,000 trucking jobs? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or go to the post on the "the situation room" facebook page.

if we blow this deal, wolf, you and i could get us one of those 18-wheelers and travel the highways and byways of this great land. >> tough to make a living. i didn't know there were 200,000 jobs out there if people want them. i suspect a lot of people, jack, didn't know. but you're going to help them. >> maybe it will help somebody. >> let's hope. yeah. you may have done a public service. wouldn't be the first time, thank you. >> okay. all right. another story we're following, the city of anaheim, california, is erupting in chaos. outraged demonstrators are trashing the streets days after police shot and killed two people they believe didn't deserve to die. casey wian is on the scene for us joining us with the latest. casey, what's going on? >> reporter: well, wolf, the anaheim police department is saying this afternoon that they're hoping calm returns to their city tonight. but if it doesn't, they are prepared for more violence. protesters in anaheim,

california, clashed with police for a fourth day following two fatal shootings by police of suspected gang members. one on saturday, one sunday. >> i'm not trying to justify what happened. i'm trying to find justice. >> reporter: one of the dead men, 25-year-old manuel diaz was apparently unarmed. >> if they don't hear our voices nothing will be changed. >> it's the people supposed to be protecting us. the cops are the ones doing this. >> reporter: police say officers saw diaz speaking with occupants of a car in an area known for drug sales recognizing him as a gang member, officers attempted to approach diaz, who fled the scene. police say he then reached into his waistband for an unidentified object and turned toward pursuing officers who opened fire and killed diaz. the dead man's mother who reportedly plans a lawsuit against the city disputes that saying he was first shot in the back. >> but he was down and they shot

him the second time. >> reporter: tuesday night protests turd violent after a crowd of up to 1,000 people were denied entry to a packed city council meeting. >> some protesters, many who we believe were not from our city, chose to take advantage of this evening of dialogue to try to create chaos in our downtown neighborhoods. they chose violence and vandalism over respectful communications. >> reporter: police responded with pepper balls and bean bags reporting 24 arrests and a handful of minor injuries. >> we're continuing to examine various videos taken by many individuals in order to identify specific lawbreakers in the crowd. we'll continue to make arrests whenever possible. and those arrested will be prosecuted. >> reporter: police say they are prepared if more protests erupt. the orange county district attorney as well as state and federal authorities are investigating the shooting.

and just a few moments ago we received a copy of the lawsuit that is fwoing to be filed by the shooting victim, manuel diaz, his mother. it seeks $50 million -- in excess of $50 million from the city of anaheim. also, his mother is calling on protesters to remain peaceful. she said that none of her relatives were at those protests that turned violent last night. and she wants the city to protest if they must peacefully, wolf. >> casey wian on the scene for us. thank you, casey. a clip of a motorcycle weaving in and out of cars at 185 miles an hour goes viral and police promptly issue a warrant for the driver's arrest. we have new information on the man behind this terrifying stunt. and watching tv or using the computer is a nightly activity for so many millions and millions of people. but could it be leading to some forms of depression? standby, you're in "the situation room." brave knights!

as you can clearly see from this attractive graph that our sales have increased by... sorry, my liege. honestly. our sales have increased by 20%. what is this mystical device i see before me? it's an ultrabook. he signed the purchase order. with an ultrabook, everything else seems old fashioned. introducing the ultra sleek, ultra responsive ultrabook. a whole new class of computers powered by intel.

consider the journey of today's athletes. their training depends on technology. and when it takes a battery, there are athletes everywhere who trust duracell. they rely on copper to go for the gold. duracell. trusted everywhere. and soon...even more reason to trust duracell. duralock power preserve. it locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. guaranteed. duralock. coming soon to every duracell battery.

an olympian kicked off the team for an offense tweet. kate bolduan is monitoring that and some other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what happened, kate? >> hey, wolf, a female triple jumper from greece is barred after posting an offensive comment about african immigrants. greece made the decision to expel her calling her tweet unforgivable. she wrote this "with so many africans in greece, the mosquitos from the west nile will at least be eating some homemade food." she has apologized for the remark. a man in canada has turned himself into police for driving his motorcycle way too fast.

randy scott recorded himself racing down a highway at speeds over 185 miles an hour. the video went viral and police put out a warrant for his arrest. he's being charged with dangerous control of a motor vehicle. if convicted he could get up to five years in jail. if you find yourself feeling depressed, why don't you try ditching the tv and computer at night. new animal research from ohio state university finds that hamsters with chronic exposure to dim light at night showed signs of depression including reduced activity, less interest in treats and changes in the brain similar to those of depressed people. but the hamster symptoms went away once they returned to a schedule with eight full hours of total darkness a day. yet another thing it seems i am doing wrong. darn it. >> yeah, but even if it affects hamsters, why should we jump to the conclusion it affects human beings, kate? >> i agree, wolf. >> hamsters are very different. >> i think the hamsters would agree. >> maybe one thing for hamsters -- i wouldn't jump to

any conclusions on that. >> good. then you and i can keep watching our tv at night. >> and deal with the computer and that other stuff as well. thank you. the vice president of the united states, joe biden, goes into attack mode over a very questionable quote from an anonymous romney advisor. did the vice president go too far? what's going on? also, he had no id, no ticket and no parent with him. so how in the world does an 11-year-old sneak onto an overseas flight? yes, it occurred. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone likes

a bit of order in their life. virtual wallet helps you get it. keep track of spending, move money with a slide, and use the calendar. all to see your money how you want. ♪ how you want. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works.

mitt romney's campaign is ve he mentally denying -- the quote comes from an anonymous romney advisor, but that hasn't been confirmed and causing a bit of an uproar. here's the quote. "we are part of an anglo saxon heritage, and he -- referring to mitt romney, feels that the special relationship is special. the white house didn't fully appreciate the shared history we have." now, the romney campaign says that comment certainly didn't come from them, but that didn't stop the obama campaign from immediately pouncing calling it and i'm quoting now "stunningly offensive." and the vice president of the united states, joe biden, released a statement personally in part saying this "the comments reported this morning are disturbing start to a trip designed to demonstrate governor romney's readiness to represent

the united states on the world stage. this assertion is beneath a presidential campaign." and tim romer is joining us right now, former u.s. ambassador to india. he served under president obama. he was a 9/11 commissioner, also a former united states congressman, now a key obama supporter. ambassador, thanks very much for joining us. let me get right to the issue at hand. is it appropriate for the vice president of the united states to issue this kind of condemnation of the republican presidential candidate based on an anonymous source in a british newspaper without any confirmation this is actually what was said about the president of the united states? >> look, wolf, nice to be with you. as a former ambassador, i am appointed overseas not to serve per se president obama, republican or democrat, but hope that whether it's a ceo, a cabinet minister, a democrat or

republican, they're americans. and you want them to do well overseas. certainly the vice president, myself, the obama team wish romney well in a high fashion with good results. hopefully it's not about fundraisers, it's not about platitudes, about photo-ops, it's about great policy. when he goes to britain just like barack obama did in 2008 of july, he met with prime minister gordon brown with the opposition leader and talked about specifics, the timeline and afghanistan and troops. he talked about supporting nato and our troops and being effective. he talked about sanctions with iran, which he's been very effective in implementing. he talked about al qaeda and getting bin laden, which he's done. those are substantiative things that i think the american people want to hear about governor romney and this is a big question about governor romney's experience as he goes overseas.

>> well, he spoke about all those things at his major speech before the veterans of foreign wars yesterday. he addressed all those issues. the specific question is there is this anonymous quote in a british newspaper, we don't know if it's true, there's no name attached. the campaign, the romney campaign, issued a statement saying this "today the race for the highest office in the land was diminished to a sad level when the vice president of the united states used an anonymous and false quote from a foreign newspaper to prop up their flailing campaign. the president's own press secretary has repeatedly discredited anonymous sources yet his political advisor saw fit to advance a falsehood. we have very serious problems confronting our nation. and american families are hurting. yet the obama campaign continues to try to divert voters' attention with shiny objects. we have more faith in the american voters and know they will see this latest desperate ploy for what it is."

let me repeat the question. why would a sitting vice president issue this condemnation of mitt romney and his campaign based on a british newspaper with some anonymous quote? >> and, again, wolf, why would governor romney or his campaign spend so much time putting this statement together when they have pledged to stop criticism at the water's edge and do foreign policy and talk about how to benefit america? >> but, sir, they're reacting -- they were reacting -- excuse me. they were reacting to the statement that the obama campaign put out and the vice president signed. it was their reaction to what the vice president said. they weren't trying to make this an issue in london. they denied it from the start that anybody in a position of authority in the romney campaign made such an abusive statement about the sitting president of the united states. so the question is, why would you react -- when i say you, i mean the obama campaign, the way

you did? >> again, wolf, i'm hopeful and i think americans are hopeful that we're going to elevate this campaign. and we're going to hear about how we create jobs with our foreign policy as president obama has done with doubling exports and increasing exports to places like india that create jobs in america. we want to hear what mitt romney would do to create jobs in america and not outsource them. we want to hear cameron and the british people on the timeline on afghanistan. we want to hear why mitt romney did not prioritize bin laden and going after bin laden and the president successfully brought him to justice. let's talk about substance. let's not get into these -- >> i agree completely. by the way, i agree. >> and let's not you and i waste our time on tv. >> i agree. the issues are important, there are serious national security differences, serious domestic, economic issues, social issues,

that is all worthy of debate. but a sitting vice president of the united states condemning an anonymous quote in the telegraph in a newspaper in london that the romney campaign says is totally false. that you and the obama campaign trying to make a big deal out of it. i agree, let's focus in on the substantiative important issues of the day. >> and there are plenty to talk about, wolf. job creation, deficit reduction, getting democrats and republicans to work together, returning to the days when we didn't criticize sitting presidents when we went overseas, looking for bipartisan foreign policy, strengthening america, bringing the american dream to more and more people, making sure that we see if mitt romney and the president disagree on an issue, you know, let's have a vigorous debate about that. >> i agree. >> there's plenty they disagree with and plenty accomplishments

by president obama from bringing our troops home honorably to the way he is helped create jobs for veterans coming home to the way he's got a timeline on afghanistan and tight sanctions on iran and supporting israel. let's talk about those issues and elevate this campaign. >> ambassador roemer, thanks very much for coming in. >> wolf, always a pleasure. hope to be back with you soon. and this note, i'm going to be flying over to jerusalem this weekend to sit down with republican presidential candidate mitt romney. we'll have a wide-ranging interview in israel. he's getting ready to meet with the israeli prime minister. my interview with mitt romney will air monday right here in "the situation room." president obama reaches out to african-american voters amid a new warning of low voter turnout potential among african-americans. could that hurt him in november? plus, north korea's supreme leader, he ties the knot. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away

if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer.

let's get right to capitol hill right now where the democratic-led senate just passed its plan to extend the so-called bush tax cuts while rejecting the republican alternative to continue the tax cuts for everyone including wealthy americans. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is up on capitol hill. she's got the latest. two very different votes. two different outcomes. update our viewers. >> reporter: that's right. and vice president biden was here in the senate presiding a sensibly just in case the democrats needed his vote to get their win on their tax cut extension, but it was really to make a point symbolically, politically, that this is very important to democrats on the

campaign trail. the republican leader though, he used the occasion to tweak the vice president reminding the senate that it was those two men who negotiated a full-on extension for two years of all the bush tax cuts because at the time the economy was bad and mcconnell making the point that the economy is worse today. all of this to say that republicans lost this legislatively, but they think it's a win politically. flashback, fall of 2010. on the campaign trail with democrat joe mansion two years ago running for senate in conservative west virginia. then he wanted all tax cuts extended even for the wealthiest americans. >> the tax cuts -- i would leave all tax cuts in place. all of them. >> reporter: now, senator mansion faces voters again this november. but this time he's changing his tune on those tax cuts for the wealthy. he now wants them to expire. >> the proposal that includes extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest americans carries a

heavy price for this nation. given our dire budget situation, this country just can't afford that. >> reporter: mansion shifts to oppose tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year is the ultimate example of democrats deciding the president's strategy, a centerpiece of his campaign, is best. his argument. >> we can provide 98% of americans certainty that their taxes would not go up. >> reporter: still, republicans are poised to pounce on democrats in close races saying raising any taxes in a bad economy is harmful. >> the only way to force people to take a stand is to make sure that today's votes truly count. >> reporter: gop sources tell cnn that's why senate republicans surprised democrats deciding not to filibuster the democrats' bill to extend just the tax cuts aimed at the middle class. >> 51 yays, 48 nays. >> reporter: allowing it to pass. >> american people deserve to know where their elected

representative really stand -- truly stand on this issue. >> reporter: republican sources argue that vote makes it easier to whack democrats up for re-election for raising taxes from montana to missouri to west virginia. but several senior democratic sources insist the public is on their side telling cnn that internal democratic polling numbers mirror those from a cnn orc survey last year. when presents with the republican argument that taxes on the wealthy should be kept low to help the economy and create jobs, only 34% agree. when offered the democratic argument that taxes on the wealthy should be kept high to use for government programs a huge majority, 62% agree. democratic strategists say that's why vulnerable democrats like claire mckas kill are rubbing to the issue and not from it. >> claire cuts taxes for the middle class. >> reporter: now, this middle class tax extension may have passed the senate, wolf, but the

chances of it actually passing the house where republicans are in charge, slim to none. it won't become law. >> obviously. but it will be big political foughter for the election coming up on both sides. thank you, dana. up next, how an 11-year-old boy got an overseas flight without a ticket. ans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years.

now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs.

call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.

boy traveling with no parents, no id, not even an airline ticket sneaks onto an overseas flight. kate baldwin has this story. >> reporter: it could have been a serious security breach. an 11-year-old boy managed to get on an overseas flight, even

though he had no ticket, no idea. was he on a plane from manchester to rome. only during the flight did they alert the crew something was unusual. he arrived at 5:00. two hours later was on the same plane headed home. passengers said he was talkative, appeared unfaced. british officials say he was never in danger because he went through security. they're investigating why he wasn't checked for an id or boarding pass. >> the airline suspended ground staff involved in making floor checks at the gate before he bored the aircraft. >> one possible theory, he blended with another family. >> i don't know if they thought he was like with a woman or man in front of him, his parent, someone behind him. that's the million dollar question.

>> reporter: two months ago, authorities say hours after he got out of jail, a california man on parole managed to board without a ticket. and a year ago, a nigerian american flew to los angeles with just a student id and old ticket. he was later caught trying to board a second flight to atlanta. the british security breach was just a child, but it comes just as london is ramping up security for the olympic games. >> for somebody to board a plane that shouldn't be on there, that's disgraceful. >> so close to the olympics as well. security needs to be paramount importance really. >> reporter: this kind of incident is a rare exception, according to security analyst fran townsend. >> while this 11-year-old was probably not a threat to anyone other than probably scared the life out of his mother, this is

a potential vulnerability that those that wish to do us harm could take advantage of. >> reporter: british police tell cnn they don't believe the boy committed a crime. doesn't look like he is getting into any legal trouble from this, but we may not be able to say the same when he gets home to his parents in terms of the kind of trouble he may be in back at home. >> hard to believe. what a story that is. thanks very much, kate baldwin. let's go to jack with the cafferty file. >> with 8.2% unemployment, why does nobody want 200,000 trucking jobs available in this country? he writes could it be we made the unemployed masses comfortable in their unemployment? as long as they're getting money and benefits from federal and state governments, why give up the easy life? thompson in illinois writes i have been driving a semi for 11 years. to drive a truck, you have to have a certain type of character. you can't be bothered spend ago lot of time away from home.

have to be ready at all times because your schedule can change. you may be required to report to work immediately, wait because a load isn't ready or drive at midnight when everyone is sleeping. jay in missouri. jack, if i drove a semi, you'd want to get off the road. john in louisiana. same reason they don't want to pick vegetables. they want to sit on their butts in an air conditioned office playing with smart phones all day getting paid for it. lou writes middle class americans are the new snobs. feel they're too good to do the jobs our parents raised us on. a friend of mine said you wouldn't believe the jobs unemployed people turn their noses at. they expect high pay, great benefits and challenging or interesting work environment. and george in pennsylvania writes my four-year-old grandson visited the mac museum in pennsylvania, says he wants to be a truck driver. if they'll hold the position another 20 years, i will remind him if i am still around.

if you want to read more, go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or for our post on "the situation room" facebook page. >> thank you. a mystery woman popping up in pictures with kim jong-un. now the leader is married. we have the story next. [ male announcer ] summer is here.

and so too is the summer event. now get an incredible offer on the powerful, efficient c250 sport sedan with an agility control sport-tuned suspension. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. ♪ the mercedes-benz summer event ends july 31st. ♪

o ends july 31st.

playing sports is just my whole life. looking back if it wasn't for shriners hospital, things would just be really different. i lost my leg when i was a kid. shriners turned my whole life around. send your love to the rescue. donate today. north korean media reports kim jong-un has tied the knot. paul hancock has more on one of the world's most mysterious marriages. >> reporter: north korea officially has a first lady. north korean television made the announcement wednesday evening that the mystery woman we have

been seeing accompanying kim jong-un in the past few weeks is in fact, his wife. she has been named resong ju. some speculation she's a former singer. it is significant the announcement came, low key, a fairly subtle announcement. the news reader simply said that kim jong-un had attended the opening of an amusement park ceremony attended byis wife. that's how they announced it to their people and to the world. as you know, wolf, nothing is announced by accident in north korea. everything is heavily choreographed, and it is a sharp departure from what we have seen from previous north korean leaders. the wives of his father and grandfather were rarely talked about and very rarely seen in public. so what we are seeing is kim jong-un trying a new kind of leadership as many experts say

showing he is his own man and many experts saying this is probably trying to show he has a more human and approachable persona. remember, he is not yet 30, according to many reports. it also shows is quite stable and secure. but as i say, the speculation in the south korean media is likely to ratchet up, now that we know her name, now the media will want to know more. wolf? happening now, the mysterious package the colorado shooting suspect apparently mailed before the massacre. a new warning that african-american voters could cost president obama the election. and horrifying video of a killer whale attacking his trainer. i am wolf blitzer in aspen, colorado. you're in "the situation room." here in colorado, we are learning about a mysterious package that might have been a red flag about the movie theater

massacre that was sent by the suspect, james holmes. there are many questions about it, and what it might mean. ed will he have and dar oh has the latest. >> reporter: we knew there were suspicious packages mailed to university of colorado campus where james holmes was going to school. briefly that caused evacuation of some buildings. we now learned from a law enforcement source as you mention that one of the packages was sent by james holmes and that officials and authorities are analyzing what is inside. we have not been able to confirm what's inside those packages. but clearly, nothing of an explosive nature. we also learned that james holmes in early june did very poorly on one of his exams. this was all about the same time he was amassing all of his weaponry. whether or not that played any role in the massacre is unknown at this point. that's the pieces we're putting together. all of this as victims of the

shooting rampage are recovering, facing a scary situation as they heal and the mounting medical bills they face. they came to this batman premier to watch a tale of good versus evil. now the shooting survivors find themselves in an epic tale of life and death. when they emerge from the physical scars, they'll find themselves battling another villain, daunting medical bills. caleb medley was shot in the head, still in critical condition. his family says he is slowly getting better, will take years to recover. lost his right eye, is suffering brain damage. he worked at walmart. at night, he chased his dream of being a comedian, finding standup gigs when he could. >> found one of those door frame gyms, you set it up, you do the pullups and situps. ahh! i got my setup, started to do a pullup, tore down the ceiling.

>> reporter: medley's family expects medical bills to go well over a million dollars. the medleys don't have medical insurance and his wife just gave birth to their first child. friends started a facebook page and website asking for donations. >> hospital bills are going to be insurmountable. it is extremely hard, it's very difficult. i know that we're not going to see him like this forever. he's going to be back on his feet in no time. >> reporter: petra anderson was also shot in the head, required complex surgeries to remove a bullet lodged in her skull. so her sister is making a desperate plea with this posted online. >> the reality of after the hospital stay is starting to loom large. my mother was preparing to go down for cancer treatment for a very aggressive, potentially fatal cancer at the end of this month. my sister's hospital bills on top of that are making the

financial reality look pretty daunting. so that's why we're reaching out to you. >> reporter: the hospital bills will be staggering. the family says it wille far more than the almost $175,000 they've raised so far. >> thank you for standing with us and letting this joker know he may have intended it as his story, but we're taking it back. >> reporter: as if fighting for your life didn't require enough super hero strength, many survivors will battle another wound inflicted by a gunman that called himself the joker, and i don't know of this is funny. wolf, just a few minutes ago i received an e-mail from a spokeswoman for the children's hospital in aurora area where many of the victims were taken, and we were told that through the hospital's charity program and donations that have been made to the hospital that that will be used to cover medical expenses for all those that don't have insurance that were brought to that hospital, and will be used to waive co-pays

and deductible expenses for those with insurance. we will continue to monitor that as victims in the tragedy continue to deal with that fallout in the weeks ahead. wolf? >> our heart certainly goes out to all those victims and their families. ed levandera. go to cnn.com/impact. kate bolduan has the other top stories. cal ripken's 74-year-old mother is safe after she was taken at gunpoint from her maryland home. lisa sylvester is in aberdeen, about 30 miles northeast of baltimore. we're talking about the mother of a baseball hall of famer. what happened here? >> reporter: here is what we know. it all started actually yesterday morning around 7:00 in the morning when police say that there was a man who showed up at violet ripken's house and

essentially abducted her at gunpoint, put her in her vehicle, drove around central maryland. he did use her credit cards at several locations. then around 8:30 last night in the neighboring county, in baltimore county on ebenezer road, there was somebody that spotted a suspicious vehicle, called the police. they pursued this lead and that led to violet ripken being found 6:15 or so this morning, very close, back at her house in aberdeen. she was found tied up in the back seat. here is more from the police chief from aberdeen. >> right now, we can't speak of what the motive is. we are still looking at this investigation. we are looking at every witness, every clue. for us to say or speculate on a motive would be unfair and just wouldn't be true. >> reporter: they are now looking for a white male in his late 30s, early 40s.

tall, thin build, last wearing light colored shirt and glasses and camo pants. the ripken family said as you know our mother was abducted at gunpoint from her home yesterday morning. this has been a very trying time for our family but we are grateful and relieved mom is back with us safe and healthy. back to you, kate. >> very scary. happy there's a good ending now for the family. lisa sylvester, thanks so much. and street rage that started over the weekend when police shot and killed two suspects in separate cases. going to show you some video here. you're watching a thousand protesters swarm outside city hall, some smashing windows, some throwing rocks and bottles. officers are responding with

rubber bullets. the mayor said if the violence doesn't subside, neither will the arrests. >> vandalism, arson, and other forms of violent protest will not be tolerated in our city. we don't expect last night's situation to be repeated, but if it should, the police response will be the same. swift and appropriate. >> the mayor is asking for a federal investigation into the police shootings. and michael jackson's three children have a new guardian, for now. their 34-year-old cousin tj will look after them because lawyers for their grandmother, katherine jackson, told a judge she's being held against her will. they say she finally called home last night after being out of communication for nine days. but tj jackson says she sounded strange, slurring her words. very, very sad development in the on-going saga of that family, wolf. >> yep. seems never to end, the problems

for that family. thanks so much, kate. don't go too far away. mitt romney is in london, engaged in a long distance dustup with the obama campaign. the vice president, joe biden, accuses the republican of trying to undermine the president and america's special relationship with britain. our national political correspondent jim acosta is traveling with mitt romney. >> reporter: wolf, mitt romney's overseasrip only begun and both are fighting like napoleon and the british. mitt romney arrived in london for what his campaign calls a trip to listen and learn. all of a sudden the tourist over who said what as the obama campaign is seizing on a quote a british newspaper says came from an unnamed romney adviser which can't be confirmed and romney campaign denies. the adviser is quoted in the daily telegraph saying we are part of an anglosaxon heritage and romney feels the special relationship is special. the white house didn't fully

appreciate the shared history we have. in a statement, vice president joe biden didn't told back, calling the comments another feeble attempt by the romney campaign to score political points. this assertion is beneath a presidential campaign. romney campaign officials say the quote didn't come from them, adding if anyone said that, they weren't reflecting the views of governor romney or anyone inside the campaign. the romney campaign insists the gop contender will not criticize the president overseas, keeping with political tradition. but the trip does come with purpose, in london, where romney will be watching the opening ceremonies, his next stop in israel is also no accident. republicans have hammered president obama for his tense relationship with israelis prime minister benjamin netanyahu. besides meeting with foreign leaders and going to the olympics, he is set to attend some fund-raisers, seeking

campaign gold he needs for the long marathon to november. wolf? >> jim acosta in london, traveling with mitt romney. i'll be traveling myself to jerusalem this weekend to sit down with the republican presidential candidate. my interview with mitt romney will air here in "the situation room" monday. president obama may need the support of african-american voters more than ever. we are taking a closer look at new efforts to reach out to the african-american community. why his campaign could be worried right now. and preventing another attack like this. a killer whale drags down his trainer in a life and death struggle, all caught on video.

and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness... man: great job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident.

we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? president obama is reaching out to african-american voters a couple weeks after he skipped the naacp convention. he will speak to the national urban league in new orleans later tonight. the group is out with a new report, warning low turnout

among black voters across the country could hurt his chances, especially in several critical battleground states. let's bring in our chief national correspondent john king, taking a closer look. john, what are you seeing? >> here is the map in the new urban league report. african-american turnout was up, it was about 65%, just shy of 65% of eligible african-american voters. that report said it dropped back to 2004 levels, would be about 60%. he could say good-bye to north carolina, he narrowly carried that last time. it suggests he would have a hard time winning virginia, a state he carried last time. ohio would also be at risk if african-american turnout falls back to 60%, goes on to say florida would be much harder to win if african-american turnout drops. and wolf, also says even potentially pennsylvania could be in play. look how big the president's win in pennsylvania was four years ago, almost ten points. most of that margin came from here in philadelphia, compliments of african-american voters. a huge margin.

83% to 16%. i spent a lot of time watching the ground game in 2008, decided to go back today. >> one thing, you're going to support president obama in the upcoming election. >> july has a late october feel. >> are you registered to vote? >> yes, ma'am. >> obama volunteers are everywhere asking passer byes if they're registered to vote. loyalty to the first african-american president is not in doubthere. hardly. >> we love him, our president. >> one of the proudest days when he got elected to president. >> local businesses are helping to register voters and helping customers navigate the new voter id law. >> older people don't have driver's license and id, but if they take this law and keep it,

we'll be in bad shape. >> another turnout worry, complacency. he won big here four years ago. bruce burton tells every customer this year is much tougher and that every vote counts. >> voter registration forms in the back now. we're recruiting as many people as possible. we do not feel this is a sure bet. >> this scene speaks volumes, one of six campaign field offices in philadelphia, packed on a mid week summer day, building lists, making contacts critical to the november ground war. kevin johnson is a pastor at bright hope baptist church. he says if turnout is down in november, frustration with the economy will be the biggest cause. >> i believe the president could do more in that area. you look at that in the african-american community, more needs to be done. >> he says they must vote, he is

also banking on help come election day. >> and the reason that i know that everything is going to be all right in november is because i trust in the lord. i love the president. >> wolf, the level of activity on the ground in philadelphia is remarkable. six field offices open in the city, to see it packed in the middle of the week, all of that phone banking tells a couple things. not having a primary allowed them to build the ground organization early. number two, they understand history might be repeated, but it is not being made. in 2008, volunteers were flocking to them in the african-american community. they do acknowledge this time, even though they promise to try to match levels of four years ago, they have to do a better job reaching out, touching, grabbing them, keeping them in touch. good early glimpse. we will go out between now and election day. >> good point, john. thanks so much. he is going to need turnout from the base, especially the african-american community if he wants to stay in the white house. new warnings from america's

top national security experts about al qaeda and its continued goal to hit american targets. we're going to take a closer look at one weapon against terrorism. we will hear from people that knew the colorado shooting suspect james holmes. they knew him as a boy, used to call him jimmy. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies,

rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. i have to know the weather patterns. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." with access to the fastest push-to-talk

and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ]

i am here in aspen, colorado with some of america's leading homeland security figures for a forum on the challenges of protecting the united states of america. one major concern,a flood of terrorist propaganda on the internet. jill dougherty has the story of the state department and how it is trying to combat that and more. >> reporter: behind this door, the state department's newest weapon, the center for strategic counter terrorism communications. earlier this year, its staff penetrated a militant online forum in yemen. the mission, discredit a terrorist message that celebrated the killing of americans. >> within 48 hours, our team plastered the same sites with altered versions of the ads that showed the toll al qaeda attacks have taken on the yemeni people. >> reporter: from the frontlines

to drone strikes to the killing of osama bin laden, the public knows the role the pentagon and cia play, but the state department, too, is a key player in engaging the enemy. daniel benjamin leads the department's efforts to give governments under siege the will and tools to fight terrorism. >> it's always better to have others taking the fight to terrorism so we don't have to deploy halfway around the world when it comes to a threat to deal with through military means or other instruments. >> reporter: training police forces, judges, prosecutors, investigators, developing tools to counter radicalization. it is all part of the state department's job. but with recruitment efforts by extremist groups in overdrive, those who monitor terrorists online say the state department faces a huge task. >> sure, they can combat things online potentially, maybe make a little head way there, but you know, without being on the ground there and, you know, directly trying to influence

individuals, it's not going to 100% eradicate some of the message. >> reporter: and benjamin cautions it is a long term battle. >> online space where most of this is happening, so we are looking at their websites, we are analyzing it very carefully, finding what the weak spots are. >> reporter: that's what i'll be focusing on in aspen, the role of the state department fighting terrorism. tomorrow, emseeing a panel with three officials, former and present, who headed up that operation at state. wolf? >> thanks very much. jill dougherty as the aspen institute with me. imagine what al qaeda terrorists may be thinking when they see what happened in aurora, colorado. talk about the message the movie theater message is sending to extremists. and a seaworld trainer seems helpless as a killer whale dragged him under the water.

this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com.

ñe that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan

works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. there's a range of plans to choose from, too. and they all travel with you. anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. call today. remember, medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay -- expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs... you'll be able choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and you never need referrals.

so don't wait. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. the mess amg of the colorado massacre. former classmates of james holmes reveal what he was like as a kid. and man versus killer whale. the seaworld trainer fighting for his life. i am wolf blitzer in aspen, colorado. you're in "the situation room."

homend security secretary janet napolitano says there are lessons to learn from the colorado massacre. it is raising important national security questions. among them, did the attack expose potential weakness to terrorists at home or abroad? >> we face a threat environment where violent extremism is not defined or contained by international borders. today, we must address threats that are home grown as well as those that originate abroad. >> let's talk about this and more with walter isaacson, and cnn security analyst, peter bergen. peter, let me start with you. if you're an al qaeda supporter, a terrorist out there, you see the reaction of what one lone guy can do in a mov theater in aurora, colorado. your goal is to cripple the economy, that's what they tried

to do many years, that's why they went over the world trade center. it represents a serious potential threat, the lessons learned for these guys from what happened in aurora. >> saw some of this in fort hood, texas, killed by major nidal malik hasan. >> but this is not a sympathizer. >> terrorists can draw an opposite conclusion. response of the people in the movie theater and response of local law enforcement was pretty good. this guy was heavily armed. he managed to kill 12 people. it could have been much worse if the local law enforcement response and theater -- >> if you're a suicide bomber, willing to die, walter, that lesson peter spoke about is not going to make much difference. >> never going to be totally safe, don't want to attack society. we can't go to the movies without first going through the metal detector, there are always vulnerabilities in society, but

we have to keep it in perspective. >> what's the lesson you learned as a terrorism expert, peter, from what happened in aurora, colorado, which is not far from where we are now. >> i think one of the big lessons is we are more than a decade after 9/11, how little terrorist activity we have seen in the united states. so i mean, a lot more people have died in these kinds of columbine style massacres which we saw here in aurora than died at the hands of jihad terrorists, by my calculations, 17 have died at al qaeda, not something we could have predicted after 9/11. but it is a fact. >> peter has been saying this for awhile, some disagree as peter well knows, but is it as far as the u.s. is concerned the home land, over with? >> i wouldn't say it is over with. i think you have very complex things going on, serious, particularly interesting. al qaeda is somewhat involved,

but fighting against the assad regime. they're maneuvering against iran. i think al qaeda as you know from peter's book is a very complex organization and we tend to oversimplify it. >> is al qaeda playing a significant role in syria? >> al qaeda played a significant role in syria many years, wolf. if you look at the united states recovered documents in 2007 that made it clear most of the foreign fighters coming into iraq came through syria, basically had fa sill tags there. it is not new. what the times is reporting is the extent they're involved with the opposition. >> being so complex, we're both seeking the fall of the assad regime, and likewise they are saying their two great enemies after that are shiite rulers in iran and israel, rulers in

israel. so it is a very complex situation. i think when we try to lump everything into al qaeda and say it's our only enemy, you know, well, you've written about this better than anybody. >> quick question about the olympics in london. how concerned are you, peter, you studies terrorism many years, there could be a credible terrorist attack against the athletes, all of us remember 1972 in munich. >> i think all of us remember 1972, which is one of the reasons the british made pretty good efforts to secure the olympics. there has been some discussion about one of the security firms they hired that had hired incompetent security guards. that said, the british have a pretty good handle on the home grown extremist problem which is 30 large, but have a good handle on it. >> you and i were in atlanta, remember the bomb there in the olympics in atlanta, which wasn't a typical terrorist thing, but whenever you have something like the olympics, there's a vulnerability. >> you assembled a terrific team of national security people here

in aspen for this conference. i will be interviewing william mccrave en, head of u.s. special operations, guy that orchestrated the killing of bin laden, subject of your best selling book. we all know the subject of your best selling book, steve jobs. >> thank you for having me and helping sponsor this conference. >> cnn and the aspen institute are co-sponsors. the colorado shooting suspect is known as a loner. people that knew him as a boy don't remember him that way. hear what a former classmate and teacher remember about james holmes. and at 48 after the hour, the lucky break that saved a seaworld trainer dragged under water by a killer whale. the capital one cash rewards card gives you a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more cash. [ russian accent ] 50% more rubles. eh, eh eh, eh, eh. [ brooklyn accent ] 50% more simoleons. [ western accent ] 50% more sawbucks. ♪ [ maine accent ] 50% more clams.

it's a lobster, either way. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. with a 50% annual cash bonus, it's the card for people who like more cash. [ italian accent ] 50% more dough! what's in your wallet? [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, [ italian accent ] 50% more dough! i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood...

he is being called a serial in if he can tore, medical lab technician accused of giving dozens hepatitis c. doctors are worried their patients may have been exposed. >> it is a horrible story. hundreds maybe thousands of people that potentially may have had contact with this man. his name is david kwee could you ski. federal officials say he spread hepatitis c leaving his dirty syringes behind for patients to use. he was arrested in new hampshire, but he worked in hospitals in arizona, georgia, kansas, maryland, michigan, and new york, if you can believe it. federal officials say he was on the hunt for painkillers. >> he knew he had hepatitis c, as of at least june of 2010. he continued to divert drugs and

permit tainted syringes to be used on patients under his care. >> he was arrested earlier this month and faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted. a really tragic story. another troubling sign for the u.s. economy. june saw the biggest drop in new home sales in a year. they are selling at a rate of 350,000, down 7% from the boom year of 2005, despite low mortgage rates, loan applications fell last week. and check out this amazing video of a volcanic eruption in southern japan. they were taken from different angles, the videos yesterday, and the closer view you see is in slow motion. this is one of japan's most active volcanos. explosions like this are common. a new addition to the pentagon's website makes it easy to check political candidates or

anyone else's claims they got military honors. database valor.defense.gov shows all recipients since 2001. in addition to catching liars, it is meant to honor people that deserved their awards. wolf, you remember, this is also a response to last month's supreme court ruling that threw out a law that made it a crime to lie about military honor. this is an effort to go around that. >> good thing, really happy they're doing this, very important. those that did amazing work should be honored, the liars, get rid of them. thanks, kate. back to the colorado massacre and news we broke a short while ago in "the situation room." children's hospital in aurora, colorado tells us it will waive medical costs for shooting victims that don't have insurance and will waive any and all co-pays and deductibles for those that do. also this hour, cnn is getting new insight into the colorado

shooting suspect, james holmes from people that knew him before the red hair, before the arrest and the movie theater massacre. drew griffin of cnn's special investigations unit joins us now. drew, talking about people that knew james holmes as a boy. what are you learning? >> yes, people that knew him in elementary school where he grew up in northern california. we have gone back that far, wolf, because the picture we have gotten of holmes so far has been pretty slim. his former classmates telling cnn this guy was hardly the loner everybody is describing now in colorado. but they do admit he was one of the smartest kids in the class. >> he excelled in academics, top of the class. even back then, he was the head of every student academically, his intelligence was ahead of everybody. he wasn't a loner as depicte

he always got along well with the kids, with everybody. >> we talked to one of his teachers, paul carer, we asked him what he thought about one of his students being the alleged shooter. his reaction, wolf, has to be the same reaction anyone that knew this child or james holmes at any time in his life must have had when they found this out. take a listen. >> that's really disturbing. to be so close to something like that bothers you to your essence, particularly as a teacher, you're thinking this is one of my kids. then you also think, could i have done anything or did i see anything, did i miss anything. you know, could i have done anything to have prevented this. did i do anything to cause this. you know, which the answer is no, but that's what you think and that's how you feel.

>> wolf, i can imagine anybody along the line that knew james holmes or interacted with him is probably having that same doubt in their mind, is there anything they saw, anything they could have done along the way that could have sparked them to call authorities. wolf? >> the picture i see emergineme correct me if i'm wrong, he may have been relatively normal until he arrived in colorado. is that what you're learning? >> it seems to be, and it seems to be centered around this elite neuroscience program he was involved with, which is why it has been frustrating for me and many reporters to get such little information out of the university of colorado's medical school to see exactly how he was behaving, though a source with information related to his academic career there, wolf, is confirming to cnn that he did

score poorly on that oral exam on june 7th that was just three days before he told the school he was withdrawing, but again, the information has been pretty slim. what we have been trying to do, though, try to get a composite picture of james holmes, try to pinpoint exactly where it was that, you know, not a scientific term, but where he may have snapped. i think we'll be learning that later. the chancellor at the school actually told me yesterday that kind of information will only emerge in court. wolf? >> drew, thanks very much for that good work and to our viewers, you can hear and see more interviews in the cnn documentary, madness at midnight, the search for answers in aurora. it explores the massacre and honors the victim, survivors, and heroes. it will air saturday, 8:00 p.m. eastern, only here on cnn. a 5,000 pound whale could

have killed his trainer in a scary underwater struggle. you're going to see how it all played out on videotape.

a heart stopping 15 minute video was just released showing a killer whale at seaworld grab his trainer by the leg and yank him underwater. it is chilling, but the trainer is okay after this 2006 incident, david mattlingly joins us from atlanta. walk us through what happened. >> reporter: this video came out in 2006. it was released as part of legal proceedings that stemmed from a 2010 death of a trainer at a

seaworld in orlando. that trainer killed by a killer whale. now, four years earlier on this video you see a trainer doing the same thing that trainer was doing, and watch now, see how this is the moment when everything went wrong. you can see the 5,000-pound killer whale biting the foot of trainer kenneth peters. he struggles but there's nothing he can do. in seconds, he's pulled under, helpless as the whale drags him below, out of the camera's view. we don't see him again until almost 20 seconds later, still alive but still trapped. then, just when peters might have been running out of time holding his breath, a tremendously lucky break -- the whale surfaces. what was this whale doing? >> she obviously knew that he was about out of breath, brought him back up to the surface, allowed him to compose himself

and drug him back down. looked obvious to me that she was sending him a message. >> reporter: several tense minutes go by. peters' foot still in the whale's mouth. he doesn't try to struggle, hoping to calm the whale. but instead of letting go, the whale seems to play with him, dunking him, swirling around. then another abrupt dive to the bottom. this one lasts only about 30 seconds. back at the surface, peters, still helpless, appears exhausted when the whale lets him go. >> peters is very fortunate to be alive. and that's about it. >> reporter: you can see the fear. peters swam for his life and out of the pool. he suffered puncture wounds and a broken foot. six years later a statement now from seaworld says peters returned to work shortly after this incident and remains a member of the team at shamu stadium to this day.

but at all seaworlds, they now have a rule in place where those trainers are not allowed in the pool with those killer whales. wolf? >> david mattingly with the stories for us. an amazing story for us. david, let me ask you a quick question about restrictions as a result of what happened. there were some restrictions, osha imposed some restrictions. give us a little background on what's going on. >> reporter: osha imposed restrictions after the trainer was killed in 2010. and we asked osha why weren't similar restrictions put in place after this obviously potentially deadly incident occurred just four years before? we sent that up the chain of command and we're still waiting for an answer. wolf? >> let us know when you get that answer, david. amazing video. thanks very much. kate, that's a pretty tough job being a trainer over there at seaworld. >>ic not believe that video. that is amazing, amazing stuff. just so happy that he was okay. that was a very fortunate break,

no pun intend there had. thank you, wolf. a new ad we should tell you uses a sweating supermodel to send a message. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens,

you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer.

even the buses are getting in on the london olympics. our video of the day is straight ahead. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident, we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance. because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

just two days before the opening ceremony of the olympics, people in london with getting very pumped up. i guess so is this bus. yes, that's a traditional london double-decker doing none other than push-ups. a sculptor came up with the

idea. for realism, if you can have realism when a bush is doing push-ups, the bus apparently even groans. pretty creative, don't you think, wolf? >> very creative. oofbs steel . an italian supermodel steems up the screen in hair latest acting gig playing a dog. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: it's one thing to be hot on youtube, for being cute while enjoying air conditioning. but being hot while left in a parked car is anything but cool. instead of the usual warnings, p peta opted for a hot model, panting and crawling around a locked car. the skull locks are a nice touch. apped like aoga scorcher. he resorts to sticking her nose

out of the cracked window. how could an italian supermodel impersonate a dog in eat without wearing a certain fashion accessory? turns out the idea for the peta spot came from a similar video by peta's german branch featuring a german personality. but peta supporters aren't the only ones sweating up a storm to get out the message. >> i'm your pet and i'm now in the car. >> reporter: instead of banging on windows, north carolina vet doctor ernie ward spent 30 minutes -- >> it is stifling in here. >> reporter: with a thermometer in a car. >> it's about 106 degrees. i want out of the car. >> reporter: by the time it hit 113. >> i'm fully drenched now and i can do that. a dog can't. a dog can't perspire. >> reporter: the demo at kcal radio involved donning a dalmation costume.

and a chocolate dog was used to show how fast it melted. makes you want to reach for the ac. but if you get all hot and bothered, just measure the temperature. an illinois animal control officer stayed cool outside using a laser thermometer. >> it's 118 degrees. >> reporter: and a dog left in that kind of heat -- won't last for long. a passerby recorded this dog left behind with the windows shut. and when its owner returned -- >> i was only in there for a minute. >> i'm sorry. you weren't only in there for a minute. i have you on video the whole time. >> i apologize. i didn't want to -- >> you need to apologize to the dog. >> reporter: as for the steamy italian model, she sweeted a photo of herself taking a break on top of the car. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> tomorrow right here